Estes is in the running for FLAP grant that would upgrade travel through downtown

By David Persons

Trail-Gazette

Posted:
08/06/2013 03:11:39 PM MDT

A map depicting the area encompassed by the one-way couplet. Traffic flow is indicated by the blue arrows.

The Estes Park landmark, the Donut Haus sits at the intersection of Crags Drive and Moraine Avenue. Talks are underway to possibly buy out the shop in order to improve the intesection. (Walt Hester / Estes Park Trail Gazette)

Estes Park officials should know in the next 2-3 weeks if their application for a federal grant has been approved.

That's either good news or bad news, depending on who you talk to.

The town applied in May for a $13 million Federal Land Access Program (FLAP) grant to help facilitate visitors as they travel through the bottleneck of downtown Estes Park on their way to and from Rocky Mountain National Park.

The grant, which requires a 17.2 percent local matching from the Colorado Department of Transportation, will convert Moraine Ave., south of Elkhorn Ave., into a one-way thoroughfare to the intersection with West Riverside Ave. Moraine will then revert to two-way traffic going west from the intersection.

In addition, West Riverside Dr. will be converted into a one-way roadway from Moraine Ave. to East Riverside Dr. (near Ivy) and continuing to Elkhorn Ave. At Elkhorn Ave., east-bound traffic will become two-way again.

The newly-created, one-way "donut" design should make it easier for visitors to get to the national park and back, say town officials.

Although it's not a done deal, many observers feel the town has a good chance of getting the grant.

Good deal for Estes Park, CDOT

Estes Park Town Administrator Frank Lancaster said last Friday that the town has made the short list of seven communities seeking the federal grant and he's optimistic that the grant will be made.

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"I'm feeling pretty good about it," Lancaster said. "Our application hit their criteria right on the nose. I feel we're certainly in the hunt."

While the FLAP grant would certainly do what it's intended to do - help make it easier for people to access the national park - it's also going to have a significant impact on Estes Park.

Lancaster said a marketing study done earlier this year revealed the No. 1 complaint of residents was parking and traffic.

"Traffic is a big thing," Lancaster said. "When you can take half the cars off Elkhorn (through downtown), that's a big deal. It certainly would make it a more pleasant experience for drivers, pedestrians and businesses.

"This will get traffic through quicker and should result in a much better environment downtown."

Since Elkhorn is actually a combination of U.S. highways 34 and 36, CDOT has to maintain the roadway and deal with traffic headaches. If the federal grant is approved and CDOT gets its matching funds (approximately $2.25 million) approved for a new bridge near W. Riverside and Ivy, Lancaster said it will be a win-win for everyone.

"This is an opportunity for CDOT to get a $13 million to $15 million problem addressed for just $2 million," Lancaster said. "That's a pretty good deal."

In addition, the town and CDOT have agreed that CDOT will maintain the roadway of the one-way couplet in exchange for the town taking control of parts of Moraine up to the U.S. 34 bypass (Wonderview Ave.), Lancaster said. That takes about one mile of highway off of CDOT's system.

"That would be considered our match," said Kate Rusch, the public information officer for the Town of Estes Park.

Not a sweet deal for some

Of course, such a roadway project will have some casualties. Some businesses will be forced to relocate and others will be negatively impacted by the roadway configurations.

One of those businesses that would have to be relocated is the Donut Haus, 342 Moraine Ave. The business, which began in 1975, is currently situated in the middle of the reconfigured intersection of Moraine Ave. and West Riverside Ave.

Diane Stovall and Katy Sampson have owned the popular eatery for six years and say they're upset by the prospect of having to close their business and sell their land.

"I'm not thrilled about it," said Stovall. "We're sort of in the dark about it right now. No one from the town has contacted us."

Stovall said she became aware of the project by reading about it in the newspaper. She said when a public meeting was held, she was out of town and no one contacted her or invited her to attend.

Now, she's "waiting to see" what will happen with the FLAP grant.

Asked if she is prepared to relocate the business, Stovall admitted she has been looking.

"But, I haven't found anything acceptable," she said.

Another business impacted by the new road design is the Misty Mountain Lodge, 232 East Riverside Dr., near the intersection of East Riverside and Ivy.

The lodge owners, Ellen and Peter Reinertsen, were in favor of an early two-way couplet design that would have required the town to use eminent domain to acquire their property. The Reinsertsens said they could have used that money to purchase another lodge/motel at a different site.

However, under the one-way couplet that is being pursued, the town no longer needs the Reinertsens' property. What that means is that the Reinertsens will now have more traffic, more noise, and a property that will be very difficult to sell.

It could even mean bankruptcy for the couple who have worked for six years to build up their business.

"We're a quiet property on the street," Ellen Reinsertsen said. "We have no air conditioning. Now, all of a sudden, we'll have a lot of noise. We'll have to replace the windows and put in air conditioning and there will be nothing to compensate us for all our changes."

Peter Reinertsen saw even more headaches.

"How are people going to cross the street to go to downtown?" he asked sincerenly. "This is crazy. There is no way we can stay in business if they start road construction."

He also pointed out that the lodge will likely lose its 11 on-street parking spaces, about half of the parking for the lodge.

The couple get about 4,000 visitors a year and most of those come during the 100 busiest days of the year - the summer construction season. Without those numbers, the lodge can't survive, said the couple.

"We were hoping to get out of the recession and make some money," Peter Reinertsen said. "Now, we're getting bankrupted by the town."

Since any construction is still a couple years away, the Reinertsens find themselves in sort of a "slow death," with little chance of selling their property and faced with having to make expensive upgrades to stay open.

Residents, businesses see benefit

Despite the plight of the Donut Haus and Misty Mountain Lodge, many Estes Park residents are happy that something finally is being done to ease downtown traffic congestion.

"Any time you can take a load (of traffic) off, it's got to be a good thing," said Brian Schaefer, who has lived in Estes Park for 41 years and has a window-cleaning business.

Other residents, who preferred to not be quoted, said they supported the roadway improvements and that they should help Estes Park as it moves toward long-term economic sustainability.